


Knock Me Out

by mattiebluebird (ScarlettBond)



Series: whumptober 2020 let's go bitches [1]
Category: unOrdinary (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst, Bullying, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Concussions, Gen, Major Original Character(s), Neopronouns, No. 25: disorientation | blurred vision | ringing ears, No. 26: migraine & concussion, Nonbinary Character, Original Character-centric, Whump, Whumptober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:20:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26922016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarlettBond/pseuds/mattiebluebird
Summary: -why did Ashe get caught? Ze was supposed to be smarter than this, supposed to bebetter-You’re not as smart as you think, a voice whispered -more likeshouted- in zer mind.A foot connected with zer ribs and Ashe thought in that way that was so unlike zemself:Now isn’t the time. You need to find a way out of this. If running isn’t an option, then what about fighting?You really think you can fight them? You have no ability. You have nothing. Youarenothing.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), Original Character & Original Character
Series: whumptober 2020 let's go bitches [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1964341
Kudos: 1
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Knock Me Out

**Author's Note:**

> This combines prompts #25 (‘I Think I’ll Just Collapse Right Here, Thanks: **disorientation** | **blurred vision** | **ringing ears** ) and #26 (‘If You Thought The Head Trauma Was Bad…’: **migraine** | **concussion** | blindness) of Whumptober 2020.  
> Warnings for all the bolded things + bullying and canon-typical violence.
> 
> EDIT: I changed "cripple" to "apoired" [ay-pw-or-d] (from Latin "a-", meaning without, and the French root for power), since the canon use of it always felt janky and disrespectful to disabled people.
> 
> ANOTHER EDIT: I changed the title from "Watch Me Fall" to "Knock Me Out".

Ashe knew better than to get caught.

Ze knew how to get away and when to run and who to avoid, so-

Zer head hit the ground with a dull thud ( _at least it wasn’t a_ crack _, then you’d be in trouble_ ). Running was no longer an option; ze’d been cornered in an alleyway with tall, smooth stone walls, no grip and nowhere to go, no one to help- no one who _would_ help even if they could.

 _-_ why did Ashe get caught? Ze was supposed to be smarter than this, supposed to be _better_ -

 **_You’re not as smart as you think_** , a voice whispered -more like _shouted_ \- in zer mind.

A foot connected with zer ribs and Ashe thought in that way that was so unlike zemself: _Now isn’t the time. You need to find a way out of this. If running isn’t an option, then what about fighting?_

 **_You really think you can fight them? You’re a cripple. You have nothing. You_ ** **are** **_nothing._ **

_BANG!_

_Ah, so he used his ability_ , Ashe thought, ears ringing and head throbbing in time with zer heartbeat.

Someone kicked zer head, _hard_ (again, Ash thought in that way unlike zemself: _are they even_ trying _to be careful?_ ), and then-

Nothing.

_Did they leave?_

Ze tried to sit up and immediately regretted it. Zer head felt like it was splitting and zer vision was blurry and zer ears were still ringing like a goddamn cellphone. Ashe closed zer eyes and took a deep breath.

This was not zer first concussion. Ze could handle it.

(Ashe was ten when a boy with superstrength took zer head and slammed it into his desk. The next thing ze knew, ze was in the nurse’s office, holding an icepack to zer bruised forehead.

Ashe was twelve when a classmate tripped zem and ze hit zer head on the sidewalk. When Ashe woke up a few minutes later, zer classmate was gone.

Ashe was thirteen when someone lashed out, smashing zer head into a wall. Ze didn’t remember what happened next.)

Eventually, ze did get up, and eventually, ze did walk away, but by then hours had passed.

Ashe went home.

* * *

Ashe was 99% sure ze had a minor concussion, which was… a problem.

For one, it meant ze either had to A) stay home from school, or B) go to school, not do any work in class, and get beat up even more than usual, as doing anything more than walking while in this state was difficult.

But ze couldn’t just _not_ go to school, either. Agwin High had only accepted Ashe on the condition that ze behave Perfectly™ in every way, shape, and form. Ash had gotten lazy, once, got three B’s in a row, and was immediately called to the Headmaster’s office for a stern lecture.

Ze couldn’t let that happen again. Anything - _anything_ \- would be worth not getting expelled.

So Ashe -still dizzy and a bit disoriented- fed zer cats, got dressed, took a few painkillers in conjunction with zer anxiety meds, and went to school.

It was one of the worst days of zer life.

* * *

Everything was fuzzy.

It had been since yesterday, honestly, but today the fuzziness seemed more pronounced. Probably because Ashe was having trouble understanding anyone.

For example:

A mid-tier was mad because _apparently_ , Ashe had been ignoring him, and now ze was trapped against a wall with no way out. “Great,” ze muttered as the mid-tier moved closer. “Fucking _great_.”

“What was that?”

A part of Ashe -a small, angry, _vicious_ part- wanted to snap back something like ‘you fucking heard me’, but ze forcibly shoved the words back down zer throat. Ze wasn’t _that_ stupid.

“Nothing,” ze muttered, shrinking back, trying to look scared and meek. It wasn’t that hard; the tremor in zer left hand wasn’t fake, and neither was zer too-quick breathing.

The mid-tier, a boy whose name Ashe didn’t care to learn, was definitely saying _something_ , but it all sounded indistinct and washed-out. He pushed closer, hands sparking, and a part of Ashe (a primal, instinctive, deeply buried part) _panicked_ -

By the time Ashe was released, burnmarks littered zer arms.

* * *

Fuck migraines.

 _No, really_ , Ashe thought, curled up on the floor of a bathroom cubicle. _FUCK migraines._

* * *

“It’s funny,” Doctor Fieldswell said. “Every one of these injuries is at least a few days old, yet I’ve never seen you in my office before.”

Ashe kept zer eyes firmly closed. Everything was too bright, and the sight of white coats always made zem want to vomit.

Doctor Fieldswell sighed and pushed a beaker of something into zer hands. “Drink this,” he ordered.

* * *

“You’re late,” Desta said, tone a mixture of concerned and displeased. Desta’s ability -Resilience: the power to survive extreme temperatures by bringing his core temperature to slightly above or below average- was a solid 1.2, the lowest of the low-tiers. Ashe, being apoired and all, was also the lowest of the low-tiers, and when Desta saw how good Ashe was at avoiding the beatings the higher tiers liked to dish out, he’d offered allyship.

Low-tiers were constantly trying to climb the ranks, and were more than willing to stab others in the back to do so. Befriending someone to learn their weakness was common and expected to some degree. In their world, ‘friend’ was a powerful word. Dangerous, even.

No, Ashe and Desta were not _friends_. Ze only agreed to hang out with him because he usually paid for zer food.

“Sorry,” Ashe said, breathing heavily. “I got… held up.”


End file.
